Real-Life Transformer Will Be Big Enough to Juggle Cars

A former NASA engineer is hard at work creating a 70-foot-tall apocalypse robot that will juggle Volkswagon Beetles. The slightly terrifying machine will be adorably named "The BugJuggler."

The robot will be powered by a diesel engine that generates hydraulic pressure in order to juggle large objects. Since juggling requires advanced hand-eye coordination, it will necessarily be operated by a human Pacific Rim-style. The human operator will be inside the robot's head and will juggle in real time, spurring the robot's imitative movements.

Computer simulation of the juggling robot:

[Credit: The BugJuggler]

The team, headed by Dan Granett, a former engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is still seeking financing to build the finished product, but expects to build a human-sized prototype that will serve as proof of concept within 60 days. It will be 8 feet tall and will be able to catch and throw objects up to 250 lbs.